Project: parentheses and disambiguation in algebraic expressions

September 13, 2021

In this written project you will have to discuss the issue of ambiguity in algebraic expressions, why
PEMDAS might not always be correct and what you should do to avoid any such problems.
1. Learn the theory first.
(a) If you don’t know or don’t remember what is PEMDAS, you can watch the Khan Academy video
here: PEMDAS.
(b) Also read the wikipedia page about the order of operations. Pay special attention to the section
“Mnemonics”, to the paragraph that starts with “A similar ambiguity exists...”
(c) Would you say it is a good idea to teach this material?
(d) What problems might it cause?
(e) What ’cautions’ should be given to the reader/learner about the scope of PEMDAS?

2. This is exercise 108, section 1.4 of Intermediate Algebra:

(a) Given the algebraic expression 5 − 3 (9x − 1), explain why we do not subtract 5 and 3 first.
3. Every now and then one PEMDAS-based problem becomes viral (or maybe only in my timeline?). One
like this:
1
50 ÷ 5 (5 − 3) + 5 ÷
5
The correct simplification would be 45. But under certain interpretation you could get 30 or even 10/7.
(a) Discuss how to disambiguate the real value of that expression, without to resort to any order of
operation rules.
Hint: solution is in the title to this project!
(b) Rewrite the expression so that it is unequivocally 45.
(c) Rewrite the expression so that it is unequivocally 30.
(d) Rewrite the expression so that it is unequivocally 10/7.